Who Didn't See This Coming?

So according to Harnessracing.com, the 'Ohio Three', (Yannick Gingras, Brett Miller, and David Miller) have dropped their appeals of the suspensions handed down by the ORC for infractions during Jug Week which would have resulted in them missing days at The Red Mile.

Who didn't see that coming?  Of course, now that there is some down time in the season, the drivers have decided to do their time.  The ORC should hand them a few additional days off for a frivolous appeal.

Horsemen have the right to appeal suspensions when they feel they have been wrongly 'convicted' of a racing wrongdoing; they don't have a right to game the system to take their suspension when they feel like it and use the appeal process to accomplish this.  Racing commissions have the responsibility to protect the integrity of their rulings by penalizing horsemen for frivolous appeals as done in Ontario.  If the Ohio commission has the ability to penalize them for these appeals, they should hand them additional days.  If they lack the ability, they and other commissions need to adopt rules granting them the power to add additional days in these situations.  Nor should drivers and trainers have a say as to when they will take the suspension because allowing them to do so removes what deterrence effect a suspension has.


Interesting to note absent from the Meadowlands' 2014-2015 Winter Late Closing program is the absence of the Presidential Series for FFA Pacers.  Of course, this is hardly unexpected being last year's edition was cancelled due to lack of entries and a good part of those nominated came from the Burke stable.  While one shouldn't read into this any further than has been stated, it is sad that the Presidential, a race begun in 1976 with the opening of  the Meadowlands may have seen its last running.

How Did Pacing Stallions Fare At The Lexington Selected Sale

The recently concluded Lexington Selected Sale was up 10.6% over last year when it was up 12.5% over 2012, so the sport is gradually recovering from the crushing blow delivered by the economic downturn. Here’s a look at how some of the high-profile pacing stallions fared.

It’s only appropriate that Somebeachsomewhere, who sports a stud fee that is double that of any other pacing stallion, was the top dog on that side of the ledger. The first thing that jumps off the page is that he sold twice as many as last year—30 as opposed to 15 in 2013. His average was slightly higher—up 7%. A dozen of them—40%--brought $100,000 or more; this is a much higher number and percentage any other stallion in this class. Just as impressive is the fact that 22, or 73%, sold for at least $50,000. Only two by SBSW brought $15,000 or less. A sister to Fancy Filly topped this group, selling for $210,000, while a half-sister to Jug winner Big Bad John was second at $200,000.

SBSW hasn’t come up with another star like Captaintreacherous, but the overall quality of his offspring and their ability to succeed on the Grand Circuit as well as in the lucrative PASS program has won over buyers. Jug winner Limelight Beach and Somewhere In LA, both of whom are entered in Saturday’s American-National, as well as Lyonssomewhere, who starts from the eight in a 3/4 YO open at Yonkers on Saturday, have been impressive colts. And on the distaff side of that division, Gettingreadytoroll and Sandbetweenurtoes have stood out. The latter carried an undefeated streak through much of the season but she maintains a very low profile, racing primarily in the PASS.  Southwind Roulette is another impressive filly by SBSW.

Seven-year-old Sportswriter wowed us with his first crop’s domination of the Ontario Sire Stakes. Last year, when Casie Coleman got ahead of the curve by purchasing nine of them, 19 sold for an average of $29,421. Seven fewer sold at Lexington this year but the average doubled. Three brought $100,000 plus while five, or 42%, sold for $50,000 or more. Only two sold for $15,000 or less.

Tony Alagna gave $170,000 for a half-brother to Warrawee Needy and a half-sister to Dancin Yankee brought $110,000.

An impressive 60% of the two-year-old pacing starters in the upcoming OSS Super Finals are by Sportswriter. Sporting The Look, Sports Chic and Bob Ben And John are a few of the better ones. With the OSS season winding down we may get to see some of them compete in the Governor’s Cup, Three Diamonds and Breeders Crown. Being immersed in the insular world of the OSS prevents them from competing in the open realm for most of the season.

Rock N Roll Heaven, who gave us outstanding fillies like Sassa Hanover, Band Of Angels and She’s Heavenly in his first crop, didn’t produce any noteworthy sons. There were 60% fewer for sale in Lexington—11 as opposed to 28 last year—and his average was down 27%; it was $68,750 in 2013 and $50,545 this year. Two of the 11 sold for at least $100,000 while four, or 36%, brought at least $50,000. He ranked third among NYSS pacing stallions in the freshman category.

Dragon Again had two of his 12 sell for at least $100,000. That’s the first time since 2008 that he’s done that at this sale. His average was up more than 7% over 2013--$49,583. Four, or 33%, sold for at least $50,000 while only two fell below the $15,000 mark.

At age 19 Dragon Again is an elder statesman in the stallion ranks by 2014 standards. With the recent retirement of Camluck, he, Western Ideal and Real Artist have assumed that role. He stood his first season in Ohio in 2014 and was very popular. Many of the gutsy open pacers we associate with Dragon Again—Atochia, Aracache, Vlos, Lisagain, Easy Again—have moved on or are past their prime, but Dragon Eddy was very good in the PASS this year and Foiled is still a force to be reckoned with.

Rocknroll Hanover, who passed 17 months ago, is still a presence at the sales. His average was up 16% as 29 sold for an average of $49,207. This was helped by the $325,000 George Segal paid for a sister to Vintage Master in order to dissolve a partnership.

Art Major is having a big year, buttressed by the undefeated star JK Shesalady, NA Cup winner JK Endofanera and NYSS champ and Bluegrass winner Cartoon Daddy, to name three. Art Major was second behind Bettor’s Delight among NYSS freshmen and third on the sophomore list.

His sale numbers were high, but he received no discernable performance bump from his high profile colts and fillies. Art Major sold 26 for an average of $47,192, down 15 % from last year’s average on 28 sold. The high end numbers were low: only three brought at least $100,000 while eight, or 31%, sold for at least $50,000.

Western Ideal, the sire if freshman star Artspeak, saw his average jump 25% from last year’s sale. A year ago 11 sold for an average of $35,364 while this year 16 averaged almost $47,000. Just about half—seven—brought at least $50,000. Only two sold for at least $100,000. And only two failed to bring at least $15,000.

Tony Alagna paid $120,000 for a brother to It Was Fascination and Social Scene.

(Pacing stallions to be continued. Then the trotters.)

Joe FitzGerald

Shortcomings of Full Circle

No, this is not on the level of Sydney Seelster, a horse which was claimed from one of racing's biggest promoters.who happens to be a handicapped young woman, and unlike the Sydney Seelster story, it doesn't have a particularly happy ending (as of now).

This is a story of a stable pet entered into a claiming race, which is claimed away.  Quite honestly, this is one of the problems of the claiming game and until we adopt a better method of getting these veterans raced, this story part of the story will be repeated.  However, the claim is not the story, it is what happens afterwards which is what makes this story worth telling.

Just a note here.  There are two sides to every story but not being able to talk to one side of  the story, I will withhold the name of the horse and the parties involved.

The horse in question, quite honestly was racing in low claimers when it was claimed.  The horse wasn't much of a race horse anymore; the stable which raced him looked at him as a family pet and if not for RUS, this horse would have been a pensioner by now.  However, he was still racing primarily because he was a RUS candidate on the fair circuit.  When claimed, the original owners were upset, primarily because it made no sense for anyone to claim the horse. When it came to this horse, it would have been more appropriate to wager whether or not the horse would stay flat instead of whether or not he would win the race.

Knowing this horse was going to be a bad claim for the claimant, they were apparently approached several times with an offer to buy him back for what they claimed him for only to be rebuffed and told the price would be more than the original claim price; perhaps trying to cash in on the emotional ties the original owners had for the horse.  As a result, the original owner had no choice but to keep an eye out for the horse when the new owner would acknowledge it was a bad claim and be willing to sell the horse back.  In the meanwhile, the original owner and the breeder signed up for the USTA Full Circle program, a means to tell anyone who owns a horse there is someone willing to take the horse on as a retiree.  Problem is a voluntary program is as good as the people involved.

As the original owner suspected, the horse would be decent on the Fair RUS circuit, having won a race and finishing in the money in three other races.  Unfortunately, the RUS circuit is currently short and the earnings weren't enough to support the horse for the whole year so the horse also raced in the traditional manner. As the old owner knew, this horse would be a disaster in harness and they were right as the horse earned $0 for the new owner.

The new owner, apparently realizing this horse was not going to earn its way, decided it was time s to remove the horse from their stable.  Knowing the horse had people who wanted to buy him, including the rider who rode the horse to victory in a RUS event (an individual with no connection to the original owner), the logical thing would be to go back to those who expressed an interest in the horse to see if they still want to buy him; failing that, one would think they would have checked the Full Circle program to see if there was someone out there who wanted this horse.

But alas, if this is what the new owner did, we wouldn't be talking about this.  For whatever reason, the owner decided to Amish the horse.  Who knows why they didn't contact the prior owners, no contacting the rider who rode the horse to a RUS victory for the new owner who expressed an interest in the horse.  No checking the USTA Full Circle program to see if someone was interested in retiring the horse.  Instead, the horse was sold to the Amish where he likely would become a carriage or plow horse.

How well the horse will be treated remains to be seen but fortunately, if sold for the reported price, he will not be ending up in a kill lot anytime soon.  Of course who knows what the future holds for him six months to a year from now?  For those attached to the horse, it is time to try to hunt the horse down and hopefully make a deal for him now or after he has been used up.

Let me make it clear, the new owners, had every right to claim the horse.  They were within their right to sell the horse to whomever they wanted.  That being said, when there were others who wanted the horse, why sell him to the Amish?

As for the racetrack, which had previously decided any horse being sold must be transferred into the dealer's name before it leaves the ground, one must ask what happened?  The horse was not transferred into the dealer's name and remains in the name of the last owner, the person who sold the horse.  Why has the track gone back on their word?

The biggest shame here is the Full Circle Program failed the horse because the owner appears not to have consulted the Full Circle Program.  There needs to be a rule change which requires consulting those listed in the Full Circle  Program before being sold to any dealers.  This doesn't mean they have to give the horse away, but they must show they attempted to negotiate in good faith with those listed in the program before selling to a dealer.

It also shows how there is a need for another system of racing available for horses besides the claiming game when they run out of conditions or are not competitive in any conditioned level.  Why tracks don't offer senior conditioned races for these horses, say those six years old and up in addition to open conditioned races (any age) puzzles me.  This would be a way for people to race those horses they are attached to without having to risks losing their horse.


On a positive note, here is the video replay of the RUS event held at The Red Mile this past Saturday.  Only six horses raced in that event as another RUS event was contested at Colonial Downs that day.  At this point, without wagering there are only so many horses and drivers available to compete, henc it was not possible to get a full field at Lexington.  Once wagering is available, expect the population of horses and riders to explode.




The Meadowlands has announced its 2015 Winter Late Closing Series schedule.

The Good and the Bad

Good news is last night Rosecroft Raceway debuted on TVG's broadcast channel.  While racetracks do best with people at the track, anything which gives a racetrack exposure on a racing channel is a plus.  This is one thing I can't understand with Tioga and Vernon Downs.  Being both are operated by Jeff Gural and they see what TVG does for their handle at the Meadowlands and other tracks, one would think they would have tried bringing those upstate New York tracks' signal to TVG as well, even if only an experiment.

Perhaps they would have to pay for the races to be shown and there needs to be a gap on the TVG channel to get the races on.  You may not be able to get all the races on TVG live, but whatever races you can get in is a benefit.


Bad news is a decision by Monticello Casino and Racing's to no longer permit those under 18 from attending the races as an effort to cut underage gaming.  This decision, which takes effect on October 10, alters the policy of allowing minors in certain non-gaming areas of the track.  Yes, you have to be 18 to wager on horses in New York State but how many of us began our love of horse racing before we turned 18?  Here at VFTRG we don't support underage gambling but enforcing the age 18 limit, while it will avoid underage gaming, may keep a generation from being exposed to racing.


Thoroughbred racing officials in Victoria, Australia are upset by a billboard rented by anti-racing groups regarding their Racing Carnival.  I won't show the billboard here but if you want to see it, you can go here, but it asks if the "Party is Worth It?"  and shows a picture of a dead horse.  Needless to say, Racing Victoria is very upset, as they claim there is no better taken care of a domestic animal than a race horse.  So who's right?

Well, if you look at the horses when they are racing, the racing industry is correct but if you are talking about the horses who either don't make it to the track or retire, I fear the anti-racing groups are correct for there is no real safety net for of the track horses and many meet their demise at the abbattoir.

Fortunately, with the program the thoroughbred industry has adopted in the United States, there is less of a chance of their horses ending up in jeopardy.  Unfortunately, the standardbred industry has not undertaken a similar program thus a similar campaign could take place here and  the standardbred industry really has no response as to 'Why?'.


The issue of race day medication remains in the news with the use of furosemide perhaps causing the most passionate debate.  The one question no one can seemingly answer is how can the rest of the world do without the use of this anti-bleeding medication, yet North American racing can't?

A Look Back At The Grand Circuit Meet At The Red Mile

The weather in Lexington for the Red Mile Grand Circuit meet was cool, breezy and occasionally damp, so record setting performances were kept to a minimum. And while most of the major players in all classes were racing on the same track for the first time this season, little came of it in the way of clarity. Several division races as well as the HOY balloting are even more clouded than they were going in.

While Cantab Hall and Muscle Hill wound up in a photo finish at the sale, Donato had the most stakes wins at the Grand Circuit meet. Shake It Cerry won the Filly Futurity as well as a split of the Bluegrass, and her little brother Uncle Lasse also won a Bluegrass division.  Mistery Woman was the surprise winner of the Allerage Mare for Team JC, while Bee The Queen took a split of the Bluegrass. And The Bank put it all together to win a split of the Bluegrass for Jimmy Takter. This was an excellent meet for Donato Hanover.

Muscle Hill had five winners, including the brilliant Mission Brief, who set a 1:50.3 world record in her division of the ISS for Yannick Gingras. Jolene Jolene is another brilliant filly by Muscle Hill. She won her Bluegrass division by seven lengths for David Miller. Muscle Diamond and Southwind Stryker are a couple of other winners by this stallion.

Cantab Hall’s undefeated son Billy Flynn won his Bluegrass split but was picked up by the Explosive Matter colt Pinkman in the ISS. Father Patrick also won the first week, but lost to stablemate Nuncio in the Futurity. Wild Honey got her seventh win in the Bluegrass and Walter White got his second win in the ISS.

Andover Hall also had a solid meet as Nuncio won twice, including the KY Futurity, and Creatine, last year’s Futurity winner, upset Sebastian K in the Allerage Open. Lilu Hanover was another stakes winner by Andover Hall.

Stallion wise, things were a bit more democratic on the pacing side: State Treasurer, a son of Real Desire, won the Allerage open and Yagonnakissmeornot, a mare by The Panderosa, took the open mare pace.

Always A Virgin made a big splash in Lexington, as Always B Miki won a division of the Tattersalls Pace by six lengths in 1:47.4 after taking a split of the Bluegrass last week. And his paternal sister, Nat A Virgin, beat Uffizi Hanover a nose in a division of the Garnsey.

The most accomplished pacing stallion at the meet was Art Major. NA Cup winner JK Endofanera won a split of the Tattersalls Pace; Cartoon Daddy was a Bluegrass winner; and the spectacular freshman filly JK Shesalady, a full sister to JK End, maintained her unbeaten status with a win in the ISS that was a fifth off the world record, despite rain.  

Jug winner Limelight Beach was not staked to the Tattersalls Pace and he wasn’t supplemented, but he did take a Bluegrass split. And the speedy but erratic American Ideal freshman In The Arsenal was an upset winner in the Bluegrass at 25/1 and came back and beat Arspeak and Cartoon Daddy in the ISS.

Jimmy Takter was the leading trainer of stakes winners with 13, after winning five last year. He was followed by Ron Burke with nine, after which there was a marked drop-off to five others with two wins each. Tony Alagna, whose only stakes win was with Artspeak in the Bluegrass, led the trainer list for the $10,000 late closers with six winners. Last year he also won six late closers, along with four stakes races. Tony was followed by Leigh Raymer, who had five, all with Mark MacDonald driving. Two were with the Crazed gelding, Tirade Hanover, and another two with the Bettor’s Delight filly, B Stern. The latter paid exactly $20.60 in both races. Chuck Sylvester, who has trained six winners of the Kentucky Futurity, won four late closers, as did Jimmy Takter.

Oddly enough, Ron Burke, who did so well in the stakes portion of the meet, had no winners in the late closers. And he didn’t win any last year either, although he did take four stakes. Ake Svanstedt won three late closers but drew a blank with the stakes races. In light of his investment in premium stock that had to be a major disappointment.

Erv Miller, who occupies the three slot on the trainer’s money list, won one stakes race and one late closer. Last year it was three late closers and no stakes. And sister-in-law Julie Miller, who is also high on the list, had only one stakes winner. Erv lost his dad on Saturday, so that family had more important issues to deal with.

Casie Coleman, who is number four, raced her two-year-old pacing filly Heavenly Bride to second place finishes in the Bluegrass and ISS for Brian Sears, and that was it. Her pacing colt McWicked wasn’t staked to anything in Lexington and started in a sophomore open at Yonkers instead. She always takes part in the sale, but once again left no footprint on the track.

Rene Allard’s only starter was the Allerage Mare winner Yagonnakissmeornot. Gilbert Garcia-Herrera had no starters. So, most of the top earning trainers played limited roles in the Red Mile experience.

Yannick Gingras, who is closing in on the $13 million mark, had an incredible 16 stakes wins at the meet. And he also won four late closers. Takter and Burke provided him with live drives and he was able to get most of them home. Gingras won almost one of every three stakes races. Obviously this left slimmer pickins for the rest of the drivers. For instance, last year Tim Tetrick won nine stakes and 11 late closers, but the trainers he relies on to provide him with competitive stock aren’t coming through to the same degree as in the past. In 2013 he won three for Toscano, four for Brad Maxwell and six for Tony Alagna. Toscano and Maxwell won two late closers each this year and only one of Tim’s wins was for Alagna. While Tetrick still drives for him, Zeron seems to have taken over as his go to guy. Tetrick doesn’t drive for Takter or Burke very often, and with those two and their cadre of favorite drivers—Gingras in particular—sucking all the oxygen out of the room, the numbers naturally drop for Tetrick and all the rest.

While the abundance of dominating performers led to more chalk than one would like, there were some generous payoffs. Mark MacDonald brought home Carl Jamieson’s Rocknroll Hanover freshman Cheekie at a $166 price and Ed Lohmeyer’s Western Ideal filly Ideal Nuggets paid $250 when David Miller won with her on the second day of the meet.

Joe FitzGerald